glad to have you with us. it's friday, march 29th. mortar shells hit damascus university in the heart of the syrian capital. 15 students were killed. state run tv reported that the shells struck a cafeteria where students gather. the report blamed terrorists, the government's term for opposition forces. they say they're not fighting near the university. they claim government troops carried out the attack. the two sides are struggling for control. opposition fighters are reported to have carried out surprise

attacks around damascus airports. they are trying to prevent iranian claims from landing. they have long provided support to bashar assad. people in cyprus are lining up to do something they haven't done in weeks, withdraw money from the bank. tell us more about this. >> they do have a limit on how much they can withdraw but at least there's someone at the bank they can talk to. people in cyprus are shuffling back toward some sense of order. international backers came in. now managers have reopened banks for the first time in nearly two weeks. people have joined the lines to withdraw their cash. some are relieved and others unhappy that withdrawals are limbed to 300 euros.

government officials say they'll keep the ceiling on withdrawals and other capital controls in place for about a month. the president and members of cabinet will return 20 to 25% of their salaries to state coffers to take responsibility for the chaos. banks were heavily exposed to the debt problem in neighboring greece. under the terms of the bail out the country's second largest bank is to be shut. accounts of under 100,000 euros will be combined with those of the largest bank, the bank of cyprus. counts witmore than 0,00 euro will be frozen. people across cyprus are angry about how things unfolded.

th >> reporter: they waited days to do something that was an every day activity. even though they can go inside banks they face limitations. many are frustrated by controls on withdrawals and transfers. >> 300 only. that is the limit. >> reporter: he owns the used car dealership. his saw sales plummet as neighbors greece fell into financial crisis. his profits have evaporated. he doesn't have faith things will get better. >> translator: i can't trust the banks anymore. we probably facing much tougher times ahead.

t . >> reporter: the impact of the crisis are sending to one of the largest in the community. russians are considering their future. many are wealthy many don't like the decision to target savings of more than 100,000 euros. some are thinking of leaving the country. >> it's very bad. >> i was very surprised, of course, by the situation. everybody was happy. >> reporter: they have benefits from the investments.

they are worried about consequences. >> the russian community we lost, we killed our long established international business. it's the seam engine of the economy. >> reporter: vcyprus had avoide international collapse. leaders have much more to do to rebuild their economy and calm fears about a future. >> let's get a check on the markets. the s&p 500 closed at a record

high on thursday of 0.41%. that's on optimism about the u.s. economy. the dow jones rose more than a third of a percent to finish at 14,578. that's also a fresh high. ramin is at the tokyo stock exchange to tell us more. u.s. markets ended first quarter on an upbeat sentiment. we also have key data here in japan. >> we do. let me go over some of the numbers here. industrial out put for february fell 0.1%. that's the first fall in three months. we're going to see what kind of repercussion that has on the market. both indexes are trading higher. there's a focus fundamental

economic data or getting back to basics but lingering concerns about cyprus's bailout is still hanging over the markets. investors may be looking for a reason to check their portfolios and perhaps book some profits or wait for further market cues. here we're going to get a big market cue when the bank of japan meets next weekend. it's going to be the big focus. of course, the first bank of jan policy board meeting. the new bank of japan chief and lot of focus there on what measures he may take. the nikkei has risen to fresh highs and the yen has weakened on the premise of the government and the bank of japan are going to do everything possible to

battle deflation here in japan. that's a big focus next week. >> we'll be keeping a close eye. what can you tell us? >> let's have a look at some of the levels. euro zone cities and uncertainty over the italian government. the euro does remain a big focus and how it's trading against the yen. 120.75 to 76. that compares to lower 120 levels when stocked closed here yesterday on thursday in tokyo. dollar/yen top of the screen 94.23 to 24. some traders are appearing to buy the dollar based on the bank of japan's easing.

we shall see a lot of focus for next week's policy board meeting by the bank of japan. >> back to you. thanks for that update. i have some other economic data for you out of japan. first, let's start with employment data. the jobless rate rose for the first time in two months in february. the latest data from the the unemployment rate was 4.3% that's up .1 of a point from january. the number of people without a job fell from nearly 2.8 million marking a decrease from 33 consecutive months. those with a job rose to more than 62 million. the labor ministry announced the ratio of job vacancies to seekers. the number was unchanged from the previous month. consumer prices dropped marking a fourth straight monthly

decline. officials at the sgerinternal affairs ministry say the price fell 0.3% from a year earlier. the drop is attributed largely to a fallen price of household appliances such as televisions. japan will provide more than 540 million dollars in general loans to myanmar. this is will be the first assistance to the fledgling democracy in 26 years. japanese finance minister promised the loans during his january meeting with myanmar president. he said he hopes assistance will be available by tend of this month. japan will earmark over $210 million to improve port facilities and electricity grids outside myanmar's largest city.

nearly $150 million will also be allocated to repair thermal,000er plants and transformer substations. the rest of the aid or roughly $180 million will be spent on improving roads and drinking water systems. myanmar's economy is expected to continue to grow but the country needs to improve its inf infrastructure. that's the latest in business for this hour. here is a check on markets.

form south african president nelsonandela is ck in t hpil to get treatment for a recurring lung infection. mandela is respected at home and abroad for his leadership in the fight against apartheid. he became the country's first black president in 1994. >> the doctors are attending to him and ensuring that he receives the best possible expert treatment and is kept comfortable. >> this is the third time in four months mandela has been hospitalized. he's being treated at a medical facility in the capital, pretoria. the presidential spokesperson ga no further detail. mandela was briefly admitted to the hospital earlier this month for a checkup. in december, he spent nearly three weeks in the hospital getting treatment for a lung infection and having a gallstone removed. mandela has not appeared in public since the closing ceremony of the 2010 world cup

soccer finals in south africa. he's 94 years old. the swiss supreme court has overturned a lower court decision and granted indefinite operation for an asian nuclear power plant on the condition that sufficient safety measures are taken. east side gallery is the longest remaining section of the wall. it runs more than a kilometer. tourists flock there to see murals painted by artists around the world. construction crews immediate needed to provide access to the site of an apartment complex. they have collected signatures from more than 80,000 people to protest the demolition. several hundred protesters held rally in front of city hall. they want the wall to be preserve and demanded an

immediate halt to construction. >> translator: the berlin wall is part of history. i feel so sad the wall was destroyed. >> they will consider restoring the removed section. the swiss court has overturned a lower court decision and granted for an ing power plant. it's centered around the antinuclear group be shut down. the group says the plant has developed safety problems since coming online 40 years ago. in march last year the country's court ordered the operator to shut down the facility by june this year. the supreme court rejected the plaintiff's request on thursday. the court permitted bkw onhe condition of the power company

implements it. they required them to follow instructions by the nuclear safety regulators. in the wake of 2011 fukushima accident they decided to phase out the five reactors by 2034. public discussions are under way in the plan sight of the plant was only ten kilometers north of fukushima. he explained his decision to the governor. >> translator: after considering the situation and the feelings of the people of fukushima. we have concluded it will not be

appropriate to proceed with the plan for construction. >> the company president noted many evacuees are still forced to live in temporary housing. he urged the e llectric companyo make good use for the site. they had been trying to win approval for the plan since 1968 but opposition from local communities surged following the disaster. google has released panoramic image of an exclusion zone. town officials want to let the world see that recovery work following the 2011 nuclear accident still has a long way to go. the internet giant's street view service started offering 360-degree digital photos of the town on thursday.

this is the first time internet viewing of japan's nuclear exclusion zone has been made available worldwide. the images show a shopping mall in the heart of the town littered with collapsed buildings, even two years after the earthquake and tsunami. residents and vehicle traffic are not visible in the area. google officials say they'll record and make public images of areas affected by the nuclear accident in order to contribute to the reconstruction of the disaster-hit regions. japan's defense ministry

think tank has warned that the country might encounter an emergency situation with china around the senkaku islands in the east china sea. the national institute for defense studies lease ereleased annual report. china's increasing maritime activities were of key interest. china's taking action without fearing friction with neighboring countries. the institute cautions that an emergency might occur if china continues to intrude into japan east japanjapan territory by sea and air. it's crucial to promote regular meetings between the maritime agencies of japan and china. the think tank says north korea will continue to carry out nuclear tests to make it an

established fact that the country is a nuclear power. the report says north korea keeps insisting that the nuclear program is aimed at deterring the united states. the institute warns that the north is highly likely to be developing intercontinental missiles and will continue to launch rockets with similar technology. japanese distance runners push themselves. they race from one point to another and pass their sash to their teammate. they have run more than 100 kilometers. over the past few years a different group of runners has run along the same course, but their race is not just a test of speed.

>> reporter: around 40 people have gathered at the starting point for a race that's a little bit different. as they run they pick up garbage along the way. at each check point the bar gaj is weighed. they get points for the amount of trash they gather. the founder came up with the idea seven years ago. >> translator: i think cleaning up public area s the easiest way someone can contribute to society. >> reporter: most of the participants are students and

young adults. few of them have volunteered before. she's taking part because it sounded like fun. >> translator: my plan is to find heavy pieces of garbage and get to the finish as fast as i can. >> reporter: she looks for trash hidden away out of sight like under bushes. she soon finds so much trash that her bag splits. >> translator: there's way too much garbage. no matter how much i pick up there's more. >> reporter: she's running a 15 meter stage. wow, what a lot. in three hours she picked up 16 kilograms of trash. she's the winner for this section of the race. running is hungry work.

a well established local restaurant serves on bowls of noodles for those who finish this leg of the race. >> translator: serving some noodles is the at least i can do. we want to do something to support them. >> reporter: local governments are also supporting this. at this relay station 12 star from the city office help sort the trash gathered by the runners. they have turned out to help even though it's their day off. >> translator: at city hall we want to support volunteer efforts like this. >> reporter: day two of the race. the last section of the 111 kilometer course is a tough uphill climb. at 5:30 in the afternoon the

last team reaches the goal. between them they have collected 230 kilograms of garbage. that's as much as 500 people throw out in tokyo in a single day. >> translator: it was really enjoyable. i didn't think picking up trash while running would be so much fun. >> translator: at first at wasn't much interested in volunteering but i found that helping other people is a good feeling. >> reporter: last year it was held abroad for the first time in london just ahead of the paraolympic games. similar events are planned in other countries. people in southern schina ae dealing with heavy rain and flooding. >> persistent heavy rain is disrupting daily life in south

eastern china. we're talking about thunderstorms and a risk of hail add well. hong kong you've had about 100 millimeters of rain over the past 24 hours. the heaviest rain in several months. sill an additional 200 millimeters is possible in some area. 100 millimeters for a wide area. the soil can't absorb anymore rain. you can see vain affecting taiwan as well as south western islands of japan. you've had 70 kilometers per gusts as well. it will likely persist into the weekend. up toward high and dry for the rest of china and the korean peninsula. a cold air mass is blanketing the north. 11 degrees in beijing and 13 in shanghai. do towards the south sizzling

hot. central thailand will see highs reaching over 40 degrees. around north america it's mostly quiet but rain showers will develop. this is the place where warm air from the south is collidesing with the cold air mass blanketing the north eastern part of the u.s. and canada. temperatures have been on the lower side across the east. only 12 degrees in new york city. new york has been experiencing the coldest march since 2001. the lower than average temperatures akros the west will prolong into easter weekend.ckr will prolong into easter weekend.rkros the west will prolong into easter weekend.okros the west will prolong into easter weekend.skros the west will prolong into easter weekend.skros the west will prolong into easter weekend. the west will prolong into easter weekend. the extreme cold still gripped the northern area. many people have been badly affected. seems some people are welcoming

the extended winter. let's go to some footage. spring started last week but winter conditions prevail in many parts of germany. skis ers were not complaining. the brief weather didn't appear to phase people on the beach. some locals were even surfing. it seems some people didn't mind the cold. in terms the of the precipitation severe weather is likely to persist across the south. we are seeing a low pressure system drifting into the iberian peninsula. know showers for the alpine region and the north parts of the balkan peninsula. 1 degrees for berlin and 2 degrees in moscow. towards e